One of many reasons for anxiety among Americans is concern about climate change. With nearly one in five Americans experiencing anxiety disorder and almost a third dealing with anxiety in any given year, worry about climate change is increasingly a contributor to these problems. Now a network of organizations is addressing this phenomenon by improving mental and emotional resilience.
The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that just over 19% of U.S. adults have an anxiety disorder, as indicated by anxiety levels that interfere with everyday activities, and that 31% experience this disorder sometime during their lifetime.
In the meantime, an increasing number of people are concerned about climate change, with a Yale study from last fall showing that 64% of Americans being at least “somewhat worried” about global warming and 29% saying they are “very worried.” The study found that Americans cite the following emotions about global warming: interested (57%), sad (48%), afraid (45%), angry (42%), hopeless (40%), or hopeful (37%).
Into this mix enters the International Transformational Resilience Coalition (ITRC), which recently issued a Global Call To Action To Engage Communities in Addressing the Mental Health Impacts of the Climate-Ecosystem-Biodiversity Crisis. The group’s goal is to form and operate “community-led resilience networks to prevent and heal the mental health, psychosocial, and physical health issues generated by climate crisis-generated stresses, emergencies, and disasters, and greatly enhance local wellbeing.”
Based on past efforts in which neighbors have helped neighbors, ITRC is hoping to improve the social infrastructure of communities to enhance protective factors that will help people cope with the mental and emotional impacts of climate change. Such factors include support networks, helping build the capacity for personal resilience, and collective work to address climate change itself. ITRC is hoping to use existing nonprofit and community organizations to help create this network.
To support this work or sign up as a partner, click here. If you have questions about the program, please send them to [email protected].
